Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Luke
Book: Luke
Chapter: 16
Overview:
The
Parable of the unjust steward.
(1-12) Christ reproves the
hypocrisy of the covetous
Pharisees.
(13-18) The rich
Man and
Lazarus.
(19-31)
1-12 Whatever we have, the property of it is
God's; we have
only the use of it, according to the direction of our great
Lord, and for his honour. This steward wasted his
Lord's goods.
And we are all liable to the same charge; we have not made due
improvement of what
God has trusted us with. The steward cannot
deny it; he must make up his accounts, and be gone. This may
teach us that
Death will come, and deprive us of the
opportunities we now have. The steward will make friends of his
Lord's debtors or tenants,
By striking off a considerable part
of their
Debt to his
Lord. The
Lord referred to in this
Parable
commended not the fraud, but the policy of the steward. In that
respect alone is it
So noticed. Worldly men, in the choice of
their object, are foolish; but in their activity, and
perseverance, they are often wiser than believers. The unjust
steward is not set before us as an
Example in cheating his
master, or to justify any dishonesty, but to point out the
careful ways of worldly men. It would be
Well if the children of
Light would learn
Wisdom from the men of the world, and would as
earnestly pursue their better object. The true riches signify
spiritual blessings; and if a
Man spends upon himself, or hoards
up what
God has trusted to him, as to outward things, what
evidence can he have, that he is an
Heir of
God through
Christ?
The riches of this world are deceitful and uncertain. Let us be
convinced that those are truly rich, and very rich, who are rich
in
Faith, and rich toward
God, rich in
Christ, in the promises;
let us then lay up our treasure in
Heaven, and expect our
portion from thence.
13-18 To this
Parable our
Lord added a solemn warning. Ye
cannot serve
God and the world,
So divided are the two
interests. When our
Lord spoke thus, the covetous
Pharisees
treated his instructions with contempt. But he warned them, that
what they contended for as the
Law, was a wresting of its
meaning: this our
Lord showed in a case respecting
Divorce.
There are many covetous sticklers for the forms of
Godliness,
who are the bitterest enemies to its power, and try to set
others against the
Truth.
19-31 Here the spiritual things are represented, in a
description of the different state of good and bad, in this
world and in the other. We are not told that the rich
Man got
his estate
By fraud, or oppression; but
Christ shows, that a
Man
may have a great
Deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this
world, yet perish for ever under
God's wrath and
Curse. The
Sin
of this rich
Man was his providing for himself only. Here is a
godly
Man, and one that will hereafter be happy for ever, in the
depth of adversity and distress. It is often the
Lot of some of
the dearest of
God's saints and servants to be greatly afflicted
in this world. We are not told that the rich
Man did him any
harm, but we do not find that he had any care for him. Here is
the different condition of this godly
Poor Man, and this wicked
rich
Man, at and after
Death. The rich
Man in
Hell lifted up his
eyes, being in
Torment. It is not probable that there are
discourses between glorified saints and damned sinners, but this
dialogue shows the hopeless misery and fruitless desires, to
which condemned spirits are brought. There is a
Day coming, when
those who now hate and despise the people of
God, would gladly
receive kindness from them. But the damned in
Hell shall not
have the least abatement of their
Torment. Sinners are now
called upon to remember; but they do not, they will not, they
find ways to avoid it. As wicked people have good things only in
this
Life, and at
Death are for ever separated from all good,
So
godly people have evil things only in this
Life, and at
Death
they are for ever
Put from them. In this world, blessed be
God,
there is
No gulf between a state of nature and
Grace, we may
pass from
Sin to
God; but if we die in our sins, there is
No
coming out. The rich
Man had five brethren, and would have them
stopped in their sinful course; their coming to that place of
Torment, would make his misery the worse, who had helped to show
them the way thither. How many would now desire to recall or to
undo what they have written or done! Those who would make the
rich
Man's praying to
Abraham justify praying to saints
departed, go far to seek for proofs, when the mistake of a
damned sinner is all they can find for an
Example. And surely
there is
No encouragement to follow the
Example, when all his
prayers were made in vain. A
Messenger from the dead could say
No more than what is said in the Scriptures. The same strength
of corruption that breaks through the convictions of the written
Word, would triumph over a
Witness from the dead. Let us seek to
the
Law and to the
Testimony, Isa 8:19,20, for that is the
sure
Word of
Prophecy, upon which we may
Rest, 2Pe 1:19.
Circumstances in every
Age show that
No terrors, or arguments,
can give true
Repentance without the special
Grace of
God
renewing the sinner's
Heart.